Gay Tunes for U

In honor of Pride, music blog Hypeful has put together a parade of mp3s from gay, gay-friendly, and at least a couple sexually ambiguous artists. Enjoy.

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Canadian Anglicans: No Gay Blessings

A resolution that would have allowed Canadian Anglican priests to bless same-sex marriages was narrowly shot down on Sunday:

"The resolution that failed would have given individual dioceses the option of letting their priests perform blessing ceremonies for gay couples who have already married in civil ceremonies. It would not have allowed priests to actually marry same-sex couples. Civil marriages for gay couples have been legal in Canada since 2004. The resolution required a majority rule in three orders -- the laity, clergy and bishops. It failed only in the order of bishops, which voted 21-19 against it."

There was one sign of hope, however. In an earlier vote, the Anglicans decided that a blessing of same-sex marriage would not violate core church doctrine. The vote leaves the door open for future discussions on the issue.

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NJ Superintendent Apologizes for Censoring Gay Kiss

Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden has apologized to Andre Jackson for blacking out the picture of Jackson kissing his boyfriend in 230 school yearbooks that were issued to students, according to a statement issued by the school district:

"The decision was based, in part, on misinformation that Mr. Jackson was not one of our students and our review simply focused on the suggestive nature of the photograph. Superintendent Marion A. Bolden personally apologizes to Mr. Jackson and regrets and embarrassment and unwanted attention the matter has brought to him."

The school district also said that it would offer uncensored versions of the yearbook to any East Side high School student who wants one.

Backstory...
Student's Gay Kiss Photo Struck from NJ School Yearbook [tr]

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News: Junior Vasquez, Gay Republicans, Speeders, Price is Right,

Isaiah Washington continues to speak out about his unjust firing: "All of this I'm saying to you has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's gay. [T.R. Knight] came out October 19 as purely a tactical move to do exactly what it did, get public opinion in an outrage to lead them to believe that he is being picked on because he is gay. He could care less about the gay community."

DJ Junior Vasquez warns against crystal meth — "Don't touch that shit. It'll suck your soul and ruin your life, and it'll take years to get it back" — and working with Cyndi Lauper — "I think she's immensely talented, but she's a control freak with bizarre ideas. She's a royal pain in the ass to work with."

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's gay appointees: "Nowhere in the releases from the governor's office will you find any mention of the fact that seven of his appointments hail from the LGBT community. But since 2005 he has selected six gay men and one lesbian for political posts, three Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent."

Not coming on down: Rosie O'Donnell won't be doing The Price is Right after all.

Sunil Pant, founder of Nepal's Blue Diamond Society, the only LGBT support group in Nepal and the winner of the prestigious 2007 Felipa de Souza Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, speaks out about what it's like to be gay in Nepal - MP3 interview.

Can Kelly Clarkson survive her clash with music mogul Clive Davis?

Madonna buys sixth London property for £6 million: "The American singer and her husband Guy Ritchie last week signed a contract on the 10-bedroom Georgian townhouse in London's Marylebone. It adjoins the eight-bedroom property the couple live in with children Lourdes, 10, and Rocco, six. They also own two nearby mews houses, which are occupied by staff, and two other houses in central London...Madonna faced competition for the house from comedian Jennifer Saunders and photographer Mario Testino.

Paris Hilton to leave jail on Tuesday, have sitdown with Larry King. Illustration courtesy Pretty on the Outside.

CNN looks at gay adoption: "For the Manford-Roach family, difficulties arose when they first tried to hyphenate [their son] Jackson's last name. The judge overseeing the legal procedure in Dallas, Texas, crumpled up the paper and threw it over her shoulder when she realized they were a same-sex couple, Manford said. 'Get out of my courtroom, I would never do this for you,' the judge said, according to Manford. 'Children need a mom and a dad.'"

Transgender firefighter Jennifer Lasko pulls out of dinner with Barack Obama after her transgender status is exposed for fear of causing disruption to his campaign. Obama spokeswoman: "Sen. Obama would love to have her attend the dinner. If she chooses not to attend, Sen. Obama looks forward to meeting her and hearing more about her thoughts on how we can change this country."

Ad campaign attempts to humiliate male Australian speed demons by suggesting they are 'lesser' men: "The below-the-belt television ads show women noticing a young man roaring past then turning scornfully to their friends and wiggling their little fingers. The mocking gesture with the 'pinkie' is a clear sign they believe the driver is trying to compensate for an inadequate manhood, and is designed to counter the idea that speeding is cool and macho."

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Singer Paolo Nutini Leaves Gay Fan Disappointed

Paolo Nutini is no Enrique Iglesias. The rising Scottish singer/songwriter says that after an incident at a recent concert he'll not make the mistake of making eye contact with a male fan again:

"When I first started gigging, people were giving me all of these words of advice. They said: 'Find a girl in the audience and sing to her, let her be the focus of the song.' But once when I did it a guy came up to me later and said, 'I saw you looking at me throughout that song.' I said: 'I'm sorry man, I think there was a girl right beside you.' And he went: 'Aw, it wasn't me?' It was the most awkward moment. He said: 'So you're not gay?' and I said: 'No.' The dude walked away then came up again and shook my hand. He sort of went, 'I'm sorry about that, see you later.' And then he left his number in my hand! Ten out of 10 for trying but ever since then I've not run the risk again."

Nutini, whose single "Last Request" (below) recently charted in the UK top 10, will be performing at the Live Earth concerts in London on July 7th. But he won't be making eye contact with you.

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St. Maarten Gay Bash Victim Sues, Says CBS Fired Him for Speaking Out

Dick Jefferson, the CBS News producer who was gay bashed with a group of friends in St. Maarten in April 2006, has filed a $50 million lawsuit against CBS, according to Kenneth Walsh of Kenneth in the 212.

Jefferson says that after the incident he was warned by CBS News Senior Vice President Linda Mason not to speak out about the incident because it was too controversial. After Jefferson suggested to Mason that she was violating the network's anti-discrimination policies, by "controlling what he wrote in his e-mail messages from his personal account, requiring him to ask for permission to testify in open court against his attackers (they were eventually caught and convicted) and banning him from having contact with his friend and colleague, Ryan Smith, who was still hospitalized from the attack," he says she engaged in a systematic campaign of retaliation which eventually led to his being fired.

Reports Walsh: "When he first complained about the corporate interference in his personal life, Jefferson says Mason warned him that she could force him to take a leave of absence -- which would cause him to lose not only pay but critical health care insurance -- if he continued to pursue his "gay rights" cause. After his complaint of discrimination, Jefferson says Mason embarked on a retaliation campaign. Within weeks, she attempted to terminate his contract. Failing her first attempt, he says she began a fishing expedition, and built a fraudulent case against him, placed him on probation and then ultimately fired him. 'Surgeons repaired the damage the criminals did,' Jefferson said. 'Now, it is time to ease the pain and suffering CBS News executives inflicted. I felt like I was attacked again.'"

In response to Jefferson's plans, CBS released a statement to Fishbowl NY:

"The complaint that a press release from Dick Jefferson states he will file on Monday (25) is unequivocally baseless. Mr. Jefferson was terminated at the conclusion of his employment agreement due to legitimate issues with his performance that had been previously discussed with him. His allegations that Linda Mason discriminated against him could not be further from the truth. This complaint reveals a stunningly selective recall of the "facts," both real and imagined, including omission of the extraordinary lengths to which CBS News and, specifically, Ms. Mason, went to airlift him to safety and better medical treatment -- at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars paid for by the Company -- after the attack, which Mr. Jefferson suffered while on a personal vacation. Additionally, contrary to Mr. Jefferson's claims, CBS News also supported Mr. Jefferson's right to discuss the attack publicly and to seek justice, which he clearly did. CBS policy forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the company regularly educates its workforce about complying with that and other employment policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment. We will vigorously and aggressively defend ourselves against Mr. Jefferson's unwarranted complaint and his regrettably vicious and unconscionable attack on Ms. Mason's character."

CBS Eye on Homophobia? [kenneth in the 212]
Ex-CBS News Producer To File $50M Sexual-Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against Network [fishbowl ny]

Backstory
TOWLEROAD EXCLUSIVE: St. Maarten Gay Bashing Victim Ryan Smith Speaks About Verdict [tr]
St. Maarten Gay Bash Trial Awaits Ryan Smith [tr]
Lead Attacker in St. Maarten Gay Bashing is Arrested [tr]
St. Maarten Gay Bashing: Two Months Later [tr]
St.Maarten Gay Bashing Case Lost in Translation? [tr]
Update: Arrests Made in St. Maarten Gay Bashing Case [tr]
St. Maarten Gay Bash Update II [tr]
St. Maarten Gay Bash update [tr]
St. Maarten Gay Bash Attack Victim Speaks Out [tr]
Brutal Gay Bashing on St. Maarten [tr]

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Gore Vidal Says He'll Sue Edmund White Over Timothy McVeigh Play

Edmund White's new play Terre Haute, which I posted about in May, is said to be based on an imagined series of conversations between Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and writer Gore Vidal.

Vidal is apparently not happy about it. He told The Observer: "Edmund White will yet be feeling the wrath of my lawyers. It's unethical and vicious to make it very clear that this old faggot writer is based on me, and that I'm madly in love with Timothy McVeigh, who I never met. [I don't want to be] lumped together with Mailer and Capote. They both went for murderers, and I don't go for murderers."

In May, White told The Telegraph about the play's origins: "'I thought, 'How can I do that? I can't imagine writing lines from McVeigh's point of view.' Then I remembered Gore Vidal had been in correspondence with him. I thought: 'Well, they never met, but wouldn't it be interesting if you changed the names and let them meet?' I've known Gore. We're roughly the same age group, we're both Europeanised Americans, we're both gay. I was presumptuous enough to write things from his point of view but as I went on writing the play, it became much more about me. Gore later told me: 'I would never have been attracted to someone like that.' But I would have been."

White told the New York Post's Page Six that Vidal signed off on the portrayal: "I still have the fax saying it was OK by him. Maybe he forgot it, since he went into surgery the very next day. I changed the names of the characters . . . I invented all the dialogue and actions, [and] the character of James ended up being closer to my experience and politics than to Mr. Vidal's...[White also insists that nobody who has reviewed the show] made the mistake of confounding the character James with Gore Vidal. I hope upon reflection Mr. Vidal will withdraw his intention to sue me for libel."

The paper notes: "In one sexually charged scene, James comes on to Harrison during a prison visit, gushing: 'If I thought you'd never know, I'd unzip that orange jumpsuit just a bit so I could see your chest. Touch it.' The McVeigh character opens his shirt to show off his torso as a 'gift' to the Vidal character.

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Edmund White's New Play Terre Haute Gazes on Timothy McVeigh [tr]

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Itemized: Wentworth Miller and Luke McFarlane?

From the Rock Hudson department of unsubstantiated rumors comes this item floated by Perez Hilton over the weekend, that Prison Break star Wentworth Miller has found a new friend in former T.R. Knight beau Luke Macfarlane, who spent some time earlier this year playing the boyfriend of Matthew Rhys on Brothers & Sisters.

For the record, Wentworth Miller has denied that he is gay but says he is fine with the rumors: "No, I'm not gay. I know these rumours are out there ... I'm cool with the fact that they exist, I mean this is about fantasy. Certain people are going to have certain fantasies, if someone wants to imagine me with a woman, or a man or one of each that's cool with me as long as you keep watching the show."

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Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch Celebrates Gay Pride

Actually, 'celebrate' may not be the right word. As the former New York City mayor watched the parade floats go by, his shirt was stained by some sort of liquid projectile.

He didn't appear to be very happy about it, notes Flickr member Boss Tweed, who took these shots.

Koch, a lifelong bachelor, has always denied he is gay, despite rumors that followed him throughout his political career. In 1977, in his mayoral race against Mario Cuomo, when faced with an opposing slogan that said "Vote for Cuomo, not the homo," Koch replied, "No, I am not a homosexual. If I were a homosexual, I would hope I would have the courage to say so. What's cruel is that you are forcing me to say I am not a homosexual. This means you are putting homosexuals down. I don't want to do that."

In 1998, in a 30th anniversary issue of New York magazine, Koch repeated the denials: "Anytime you are mayor, you have critics, and one of the most persistent was Larry Kramer, who happens to live in my apartment building in the Village, and who ran around screaming that somehow I could have prevented AIDS. And the fact is, I did more on AIDS, and more to promote civil rights for gay people, than any other mayor in the country. Kramer’s thrust was that I was afraid that if I showed concern, people would think I was gay. He wasn’t the only one who said that, of course. Listen, there’s no question that some New Yorkers think I’m gay, and voted for me nevertheless. The vast majority don’t care, and others don’t think I am. And I don’t give a shit either way! What do I care? I’m 73 years old. I find it fascinating that people are interested in my sex life at age 73. It’s rather complimentary! But as I say in my book, my answer to questions on this subject is simply Fuck off. There have to be some private matters left."

Below, openly gay New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg at this year's parade.

NYC Gay Pride [Boss Tweed - Flickr]

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Blitz Begins: Beckham Tries American Football On For Size

New Orleans Saints runnin back Reggie Bush and future L.A. Galaxy star David Beckham met in Madrid for the first down in Beckham's blitz on American media. The two swapped uniforms and tried out one another's moves in a new campaign from Adidas called Futbol meets Football.

Said Beckham: "Since I signed with the Galaxy, you know every time I do an interview, I'm trying to get myself to say soccer because I've always said football. I've never been to an [American football] game. I want to. Because every time I've seen the Super Bowl or something like that, it's so passionate. Everyone -- the fans, the players -- seems so passionate about it. Without a doubt. I'm definitely going to get myself to some games."

No photos of Bush were available, but we look forward to them, particularly if they look anything like this.

Adidas reports: "During Beckham and Bush's meeting in Madrid, Beckham strapped on a Saints helmet and uniform with his signature number 23 and performed running drills, ran pass routes with Bush defending him and kicked long-range field goals and punts. Bush, meanwhile, laced up his soccer boots and shin pads and defended short-range penalty kicks from Beckham playing goal keeper. Although each athlete looked momentarily uncomfortable in their new sports, they were able to quickly grasp the nuances, such as Beckham spiking the football after a touchdown catch and Bush playing a spirited game of keepy uppy with his knees and feet. Later, the two athletes exchanged jerseys and discussed what Beckham should expect after arriving in the U.S., from fan reaction to media attention."

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Student's Gay Kiss Photo Struck from NJ School Yearbook

When Newark Superintendent of Schools Marion Bolden saw the photo of openly gay student Andre Jackson kissing his boyfriend on a page of the school yearbook which Jackson had purchased, she ordered the 4 1/2 x 5 1/2" photo blacked out with a marker in each of the 230 copies that were to be distributed.

The photo was on a page in a "tribute" section of the book, in which students purchase pages for $150 (in addition to the $85 cost of the yearbook) and are able to post photos of themselves and friends. According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, "Rules for publication of the pages prohibited shots of gang signs, rude gestures and graphic photos, said Benilde Barroqueiro, an East Side senior graduating with Jackson. 'You know, it couldn't be too provocative. No making out, no tongue,' she said."

Said Bolden: "It looked provocative. If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It's how they posed for the picture."

Other photos of heterosexual students kissing were allowed to remain. So the reason for Bolden to black out this specific photo is clear — the students are gay and she did not like it.

In fact, according to the New York Times, "On the page immediately opposite Mr. Jackson’s, a young man and a young woman kiss on a couch, his hand on her leg as she sits on his lap."

As students waited for the books to be distributed, the photo was shamefully blackened out in each and every one of them.

New Jersey gay rights group Garden State Equality has demanded that new, uncensored yearbooks be distributed at the school's expense. They are also demanding a public apology from Bolden.

Said Chairman Steven Goldstein: "This action by the school district will have an unspeakably vile chilling effect on other gay and lesbian students coming out. Her (Bolden) trying to erase a student and his boyfriend is a metaphor for her trying to erase the gay and lesbian community out of Newark and its school system. It's wrong and it's ridiculous. The second it hit the Web I started getting calls. This is not only homophobic, not only an egregious lack of judgment, but this is a violation of the law and we're looking at one of biggest firestorms of year if the superintendent doesn't change her mind."

Jackson told the New York Times: "I didn’t intend to say, 'Oh hey, look at me, I’m gay.' It was just a picture showing my emotion, saying that I’m happy, you know, whatever. It was to look back on as a memory. I was upset. I was hurt. I felt embarrassed and abused." He said he has thrown his yearbook away: "I didn’t feel right. What I wanted to see wasn’t there."

To reach the superintendent's office, the number is 1-973-733-7333.

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Elizabeth Edwards Declares Support for Gay Marriage

Following the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club breakfast event which I posted about on Friday, Elizabeth Edwards made it clear that her position on gay marriage differs from that of her husband.

Said Edwards: "I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage...If he's pleasant to me on the street, if his children don't throw things in my yard, then I'm happy. It seems to me we're making issues of things that honestly ... don't matter."

Edwards made a keynote address to 300 at the breakfast, marking the first time a presidential candidate or spouse has ever appeared at a San Francisco Gay Pride event. Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris and City Attorney Dennis Herrera were also in attendance.

During the stump speech, she reiterated John Edwards' position on the issue: ''John believes that couples in committed long-term relationships should enjoy the same rights, benefits and responsibilities regardless of whether they are straight couples or same-sex couples. He supports civil unions.''

Edwards made it clear afterward that her views are further evolved than her husband's: "John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted. That's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town. I think honestly he's on a road that a lot of people in this country are on. ... They're struggling with this. Most of the gay and lesbian people I know ... have seen their friends and family walking down that same road. It's frustrating, I know, but it's a long distance from where we are now to the pews of a Southern Baptist church. So, John's been as honest as he can about that."

Elizabeth Edwards supports same-sex marriage [sf chronicle]
Mrs. Edwards Comfortable With Gay Unions [nyt]
(image: sf chronicle)

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Elizabeth Edwards to Appear at San Francisco Gay Pride Event [tr]
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